Just wanted to get some feedback on a new idea I have for the site, the main reason being that this idea would cost me $20, so I need to know if it's something everyone would use.

I stumbled across an addon for the forum recently called a Dynamic Directory. Basically it lets the admin add a directory (of whatever they want - links, books, cars, CDs, etc.) to their forum. It has a ton of features - custom fields, ratings, categories, etc.

I have always wanted a way for users here to be able to list which Archie comics (and related Archie books) they have in their collection and easily search to see who else might have a particular Archie comic. This would allow us to do that and more.

An example of how I would set this up:
Categories for regular comics, digests, trade paperbacks and other books

Regular comics would contain sub-categories for each title published as well as a few special categories ("One Shot", "Free Comic Book Day", etc.). Each sub-category would contain items which are specific issues of that title, with descriptions, ratings, etc.

The digests category would be split into two sub-categories (regular and double), each of which would have appropriate sub-categories for each title, much like the regular category.

The trade paperbacks category would be split into several sub-categories - one for each series (New Look Series, Freshman Year, Americana Series, All Stars, etc.) and "other" for those which were just single titles not in a specific series.

The General category would be for regular books - the IDW books, the "His First 50 Years" book, etc.

You would be able to add a specific item to each category, then rate it, comment it, add it to your favorites/collection, etc.

This would be quite a bit of work, but would help us keep track of things, and we could also link the individual items to articles in the Wiki in the future.

If there's enough interest, I will purchase this in the coming weeks and get it set up.

It sound like a great tool.  How searchable is it?  Can you expand the input field to capture additional data like writer, artist, title, appearances?

Sounds like it is very useful tool.  I am new so are you talking about the wiki or do you guys maintain your own databata?

Sounds like it is very useful tool.  I am new so are you talking about the wiki or do you guys maintain your own databata?

The directory itself would be its own tool, but the wiki I'm referring to is the one on this site. The directory tool might make it a bit easier to maintain our own database of comics, and we could link the items in the directory to a wiki article on the issue in the future (assuming we ever get anywhere with the wiki).

I will look into purchasing the directory addon and getting it set up soon. I need more time to play with it first to see just how much I need to modify it to have it do what I want.

Glad you all like the idea. I'll purchase the addon soon and get it setup in the coming weeks. I'm also going to be upgrading the site soon as there's a new version of the forum software available (the upgrade should also resolve the problem with the quick reply thing).